A Novel of Love, Schemes, and Over cooked omlets
by Saffy's Angel
Summary: Rosalind and Tommy are getting a little more serious, Skye has finally come to realize her feallings for Jeffery, Jane's books have been coming along, and Batty and Ben have begun to grow up- thus the Penderwicks are doing fine. That is before Iantha's mother comes into the picture and makes the girls realize that you are never too old for sisterly schemes!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter1

Skye closed her eyes under the trees of Quigley Woods. The sun was just rising and shining through the slits in the leaves, leaving a pattern across Skye's face. Her head rested on a familiar boys lap who was now yanking up grass blades and placing them on her face. She smiled and a bit of dirt fell in her mouth.

"Yuck!" she sat up and spit it out before turning on Jeffery. Now he was holding his hands up in surrender but this only made her next move clearer to Skye. She smiled mischievously before tackling Jeffery and tickling him. He curled into a ball and laughed and laughed, only before counter-attacking her in which she fell over laughing even harder than Jeffery.

They were still rolling on the ground when Rosalind arrived carrying Skye's white sweater. "Skye! OH, look at you! Your getting your dress all dirty."

It was true, Skye was wearing a beautiful sky blue dress (against her will of course) that Iantha had sewn for her. Jane had been jealous until Iantha had offered to make her a lavender one. Then of course Batty had to have a yellow one and Iantha felt it wouldn't be right for Rosalind to not have one, so she made her a sea green dress which made Rosalind look absolutely brilliant.

Jeffery got up and offered Skye his hand, who took it and jumped to her feet. She picked up the white sandals she had managed to kick off her feet in the tickle fight and poked Jeffery in the stomach before taking off towards Gardam Street. He was fast on her heels though, at fifteen he had grown not only taller and more handsome but faster and stronger as well. Now he caught up with Skye, wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around, while she laughed.

A year before Skye would have thought this romantic stuff to be ridiculous fluff, but then Jeffery had asked her out and Skye had said yes, but only after a month of him asking and finally Rosalind had to suggest they just experiment with it but after Jeffery kissed her, Skye knew she was never going back. Jane had been right in the end, once the right guy came along Skye knew exactly what being in love felt like.

Now they just walked side by side and Rosalind jogged to catch up with them. She was in an eyelet lace dress and identical sandals to Skye's. "We have to hurry," she said, "Daddy's already waiting in the car." As they approached the Penderwick's cal-da-sac Skye looked over at Rosalind who even at their early breakfast had seemed unnaturally quiet. She was inspecting Skye's sweater for nonexistent dirt. Skye reached across Jeffery and grabbed the sweater from Rosalind. Rosalind didn't seem to notice, instead she began to pick at her nails which Jane had done the night before, not only was fourteen year-old Jane turning into a distinguished author but also a nail artist. Now Skye swatted at her, "Rosalind what are you so worried about?"

"What if she doesn't like us?" Rosalind responded. She of course was talking about Iantha's mother who after three years worth of invitations had finally found time in her "busy schedule" to meet the family. She had even missed the wedding do to a deal closing for her company. That fact had set their ideas of her at the lowest of the low: an evil mommy, at least for Batty who even at eight still wasn't the most comfortable with meeting strangers, especially ladies who were mean enough to miss weddings.

Skye felt exasperated, "Rosalind I'm sure it will be fine."

Now Jeffery spoke. "Besides if she doesn't she's missing out." He smiled making his freckled nose crinkle up and Rosalind couldn't help but smile back.

Then Mr. Penderwick honked the horn and the three took off towards the car, so not to be late to their brunch with Mrs. Gekovski.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jane twirled her napkin in her lap. Mrs. Gekovski had called saying she would be late due to traffic. Iantha had not been pleased. _Like Cameron has any traffic, _thought Jane. She sighed, unkind thoughts she knew would surly lead to bad Karma and that was the last thing she needed at this point. She closed her eyes trying to imagine the lady Iantha had showed them in pictures sitting at their table; she couldn't so instead looked over her family. At the head of the table sat Mr. Penderwick in a nice shirt and tie. To his left Iantha and to his right an empty seat for Mrs. Gekovski. Next to Iantha was Ben and then Batty, who seemed to be in the middle of a game that looked suspiciously like deep sea men but Jane couldn't be sure, it might have been octopus which had been one of their favorites since Batty's second grade class had taken a trip to the Cameron Aquarium. Jeffery was next to Batty trying to explain cello music to Skye who looked radiant in her dress but had the look in her eye that clearly said shut-up-or-shoot-me-now. Across from Ben and Batty were Tommy and Rosalind. Tommy was busy eating the bread rolls Mr. Penderwick had ordered as an appetizer, but Rosalind looked worried. Jane figured she was fretting over the Mrs. G situation. Jane would have worried too if she was the OAP but thankfully this summer there would most likely be far more elders than needed and that roll would never fall on Jane's shoulders, at least she hoped.

Then the front doors of Maria's opened and a middle-aged woman in a tan suit walked in. She immediately made her way to the hostess who led her to the Penderwick's table. As she walked towards them the table went silent as they waited expectantly. When she reached them, Mr. Penderwick stood and held out his hand, "Martin Penderwick, Iantha has told me so much about you." He smiled as she took his hand. "I'm sorry," she said, "I can't say the same about you." Mr. Penderwick, a bit taken aback, tried still to push on. "This is our family, my eldest Rosalind," he pointed out Rosalind who smiled politely despite her already growing dislike of this woman. "And my youngest, Batty," who was trying to slip as low as possible in her chair without fully going under the table, "and of course you know Ben," who was following Batty's lead, or trying to in his high chair. "Down there at the end is Jane," Jane smiled and gave a little wave, deciding that she would look for the best in this grandmother, despite all rudeness stated by her. "And next to her is Skye," Skye glowered at Mrs. G not even trying to hide her dislike. _Anyone who insults my father, and Iantha for that matter, is going to taste the wrath of me,_ she thought hard at Mrs. G, wondering if telepathy was really possible. "And of course the two boys," Mr. Penderwick patted Tommy on the shoulder, "this is Tommy Geiger, Rosalind's boyfriend, who lives across the street from us. And down at the end, across from Skye, is Jeffery our very good friend and Skye's boyfriend, who is staying with us for the summer," he finished. Mrs. Gekovski took her seat and smirked, "So you believe that to be a wise decision?" she questioned Mr. Penderwick. If it hadn't been for the fact that the waiter arrived just then and Jeffery reached across the table and took Skye's hand, Skye would have gone over and slapped that smirk right off Mrs. G's face. _A wise decision? My father trusts me more than he will ever trust you, _Skye's mind screamed at Mrs. G. Skye's face was turning red out of frustration, but she kept her temper only for Rosalind's benefit, who had gone completely white and seemed to be lost in her own mind.

They all ordered their brunch and Mrs. G began to talk extensively of how annoying her assistants were and of their many flaws. The table quietly listened and ate and never said a single word, all keeping their thoughts to themselves as she babbled on and on. She went on to say that she was taking a break in her busy life to take some time for herself and she had decided that her poor daughter's family was obviously so messed up they were definitely in need of her help and she had decided to take upon herself to move in with them….

The silence at the table was so defining that when Iantha dropped her fork Jane was sure that Russian farmers could hear it. "Mother, I don't think that is a good idea," Iantha clearly said.

"Honey, I'm sure that your family is thrilled, isn't that right?" she looked around the table at the children who were all grimacing; even Ben had a scowl on his small face. "Besides ," she lowered her voice, " they are all clearly in need of my help, especially the little one." She slightly motioned to Batty. Iantha was speechless to this and Mrs. G took her chance, " I will be there at three o'clock sharp tomorrow and will expect a room." Standing now she, took her bag and left.

The Penderwick sat there in a moment of silence before Ben began to cry and everyone agreed it was time to leave. Mr. Penderwick paid the check and everyone piled into the car for a silent trip home.

An hour later Rosalind was still in her room with the door closed. When a knock came at the door she assumed it was Iantha come to apologize for her mother, but Rosalind didn't want to talk. "Iantha I don't want to talk please go away." Instead of an argument something was slipped under the door and footsteps were heard leading away. Rosalind hopped up and grabbed the slip of paper. It read:

**MOPs at Skye and Jane's room**

**8:00 tonight**

**Bring all arguments and schemes**

**The sneaky and sarcastic Blonde**

**Ps. Jeffery, as an honorary Penderwick please come.**

Rosalind went to her drawer and got out a notebook and at the top of the first clean page wrote down SHEMESand underlined it. She could already tell it would be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys thanks for the reviews they were great. And I'm sorry if I screw up or whatever because I'm kinda new to this. Also tell me what you think and if you think Skye is too mushy or Mrs. G isn't mean enough so I can fix it. Thanks again and I lov you guys!**

**-Saffy's Angel**

Chapter 3

Batty hugged Hound and sat on the floor of her bedroom in her pj's . It was 7:49 and Ben was already asleep on the bottom bunk. As a surprise Daddy and Iantha had gotten Batty and Ben a bunk bed three months before and Batty adored it. She got to sleep on the top bunk because she knew Ben might get scared in the night and have to go get Iantha, but mostly because she liked to be up high. She looked at the note Jane had given to her that afternoon again.

**MOPS at Skye and Jane's room**

**8:00 tonight**

**Bring all arguments and schemes**

**The sneaky and sarcastic Blonde**

**Ps. Jeffery, as an honorary Penderwick please come.**

She looked over at sleeping Ben. Ben was four now, and even though Batty had gone to MOPS when she was four, Rosalind had decided that they would hold out on Ben a little while longer only because he was a brother not a sister and wouldn't be any help in solving problems, at least not at this point. This made Batty feel special but also sad because Ben would feel left out if he knew. So Batty decided not to tell him if he didn't ask.

She glanced over at the clock again, 7:56. _I'll go early,_ she decided and crept out her bedroom door and down the hall to Skye and Jane's room.

Jane looked through the fridge in a hurry, she desperately needed food and knew if she needed food then Jeffery and even more…Skye would be dying for food. She looked behind the orange juice, and there they were….."_Sabrina Starr only took what was needed from the botanist's fridge for she and her companions would surely starve without it." Ohh, that was good, thought_ Jane and made a mental note to write it down, but in the mean time she pulled out one of Churchie's blackberry pies. Jeffery had brought three pies with him two days earlier, when he had arrived. _Oh, _thought Jane_, it's only the third week of summer and already a new evil lady has come into our lives to ruin it. _Jane was frustrated, the last two years Mr. T-D had been able to mess up the Penderwick's plans somehow, even if it was only with worry. This summer there had been plans for Alec to take Jeffery for the summer because Dexter and Mr. T-D had plans to go to Europe, but at the last minute Alec had an emergency to tend to and Jeffery had ended up at the Penderwick's and there was nothing his mother could do about it. Jane and Skye had done a victory dance around the kitchen when they had gotten the news, but now Mrs. G here and Jane worried there might be nothing they could do about it. She tried to push the thought out of her head as she grabbed plates, forks, and the pie itself.

Jane rushed up the stairs as quickly as you can carrying a pie and eating utensils, praying Skye hadn't been overcome with hunger and had to resort to cannibalism. When she came to her door Batty arrived as well.

"Battykins will you please open the door for me?" Jane asked her hands full. "Sure," Batty said and opened the door.

Jane stepped inside, " Skye, I-" She started and stopped as Skye and Jeffery pulled apart from one another. Skye wiped her hand over her lips and Jeffery turned ever so slightly red.

Jane looked at them skeptically, "Were you to just-?"

"What? No." said Skye looking as normal as possible after your two younger sisters walk in on you and your boyfriend kissing.

Jane smiled and just shook her head. "Well anyways, I came to tell you that I brought pie." Skye's face lit up, "Thank God, I was about to starve."

Jane put the stuff down and began to cut the pie, " So that's why you decided to eat Jeffery's face?"

Skye threw a pillow at Jane but they both laughed anyways.

Rosalind closed her notebook and pulled on her comfiest pjs. She pulled her hair into a sloppy bun and checked her phone one last time to make sure Anna hadn't texted anymore ideas for their Exterminate-Mrs. G-Plan. She hadn't, so Rosalind crept out her bedroom and down the hall to Skye and Jane's room. When she entered she was offered a piece of pie and a soda (which Jane had gotten on their second food run). She gratefully took them and plopped down next to Jeffry and Batty on Jane's bed. Skye and Jane were on Skye's bed, both on their third piece of pie.

Once Skye had swallowed her last bite and taken a gulp or two of Sprite and wiped her mouth, she called the MOPS to order.

"Second the motion," said Rosalind.

"Third it," said Jane.'

"Fourth it," Batty said.

"Fifth it," said Jeffery.

"And sixth it for Hound," said Skye.

Everyone stared, they all knew Skye hated it when Batty did this, and now she was doing it. "What?" she asked. "This is important and we need all the power we can get," stated Skye.

Rosalind shrugged.

"Okay, anyways, all swear to keep secret what is said here from Daddy, Iantha, and Mrs. G, especially Mrs. G, unless you believe someone will do something truly wrong." Skye put out her fist and everyone else stacked theirs on hers. "This I swear on the Penderwick Family Honor," they all stated and broke their fists apart.

"Okay, so we all know what happened today, and we all know what will happen tomorrow," Skye now looked around to make sure that everyone did know, they all gave some sort of nod so Skye went on. "The question is what are we going to do about it?" Skye was secretly calling upon Napoleon, Winston Churchill, and all the other great leaders that she could think of, for help as she rallied her troops. "No one can barge into our lives and home without our permission. And we all know Daddy and Iantha aren't strong enough to stand up against her without our help. She has insulted our honor and I for one am not going to allow her to do so without punishment." If Batty was a good piano player then Skye was a good leader, at least when she believed in the cause. "So… we need ideas for how to properly punish…and or get rid of Mrs. G."

Rosalind now pulled out her notebook and flipped it to the page with Anna and her schemes. She handed it over to Skye who smiled. "Nice work Rosy!"

Schemes

(A list by Rosalind and Anna)

Kill Her

Make her sick (possibly through poison) so she cannot Stay at our house

Give her the wrong address

Have Hound sleep in her bedroom every night

Go on strike until she leaves

Speak in Latin Until she can't stand it anymore and goes Bonkers

Cause her so much trouble she will leave out of hatred for us

Ask Iantha to make her go away

Move to Brazil

Skye's first choice was obviously number 1 but after much discussion and being reminded that it was Iantha's mother after all, number one was crossed off and number seven circled.

"We will come up with more specific ways to fulfill our plan but this is the outline," Skye stated.

"So first things first," said Jane. "The bedroom…."


	4. Authors Note

Hey guys sorry I haven't written in a couple days, I've been away and tomorrow we leave again so I would like to apologize and say I will defiantly have the story up the day after we get back.

Thanx for all of the reviews, you guys are great.

Love ya, Saffy


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey guys thanks for the reviews. You guys are great! I like the idea for Jeffery getting jealous… I will defiantly put it in here, I'm sorry it's so short and you all have been waiting so long please give me suggestions I am falling victim to Writers block. For anyone who has enjoyed ****Grapes of Wrath**** I'm sorry, but I hate it and I have to read it for school so my creative juices have not been flowing so please send your ideas! I will hurry with the next chapter, but encouragement it always welcome**

**Love you Guys ;D-Saffy 3**

Chapter 4

Rosalind picked up Ben, who began to squirm in her arms. She placed him back down on the ground and grabbed her bag. They were off to Tommy's in order to keep Ben preoccupied while Skye and Jane worked their "magic". It had been luck as Jeffery had put it (or fate, if you were talking to Jane) that Mr. Penderwick and Iantha had a meeting of the Science Department until three at the University. But Rosalind still had a bad feeling about their plan. _Was this a really a good idea? Really? _She paused to actually contemplate this. _No, no, of course not!_ Her mind screamed at her._ But what other options did they have? _Too many questions without anyone to answer them. Even her father had kind of hinted that they should do something. _"Have fun girls! Nothing to extravagant, Rosy." _He had even given her a slight wink! What was she to do, after all it was this or live with the devil for who knew how long. And their plan was already in motion. Skye had left with Jane, Jeffery, and Batty to get supplies five minutes after their parents had left. There was no turning back and somewhere in Rosy's mind she knew it.

Ben tugged on Rosalind's shirt, bringing her out of her daydream. "Can we go Tommy, now ?"

"Sure, honey." Rosalind answered and grabbed hold of Ben's hand, stepping out the front door.

"So…where are we going?" Jeffery asked as Skye led the way down Main Street. They turned onto Applewhite Way. Skye stayed silent.

"Skye?"

"We're going to Cameron Hardware," whispered Jane.

"What's wrong with Cameron Hardware?" whispered back Jeffery.

"Well for one they are the sponsor of our old soccer team's biggest rival and…well…" Jane trailed off.

"Well what?" Jeffery asked impatiently.

Skye had already pushed through the front door letting it swing back behind her, causing a bell to ring. Jeffery pushed through the door a moment later still waiting for an answer from Jane. _What could be so terrible about this place? Nothing that's what_…..Or so he was telling himself as he stepped through the thresh hold. _Wrong._

There was Skye swept off her feet, literally, in a hug, from a perfectly good-looking stranger. Jane near ran into the back of Jeffery, who had stopped right inside the door. The stranger gave Skye a peck on the cheek before stetting her back down on her feet. Skye looked flushed but seeing Jeffery there quickly regained her composure.

"Ahh…Jeffery this is Pearson. Pearson this is Jeffery." Pearson eagerly held out his hand to Jeffery, who hesitated before taking it.

"Well okay then," Jane whispered under her breath.

"So, troops," Skye turned to her small platoon. "Batty we are going to need the itching cream from aisle 3, Jane go with her and also grab a bottle of Ipecac. Pearson can you show Jeffery where you keep the clothesline, and maybe a bag of marbles as well, and I'll get the newts." With that Skye headed towards the back of the store, Batty and Jane headed down aisle 3, leaving Jeffery alone with this…Pearson.

Pearson began to walk to the other side of the store, motioning for Jeffery to follow. Cameron Hardware was not very wide but the back of the store was farther back then Jeffery would have thought. It seemed to house anything from window panes to mailbox posts and everything in between.

When they came to aisle 11, Pearson grabbed a bottle of water and took a gulp before turning to look at Jeffery. "So how do you know Skye? Cousin or son of some friend?" Pearson tried to guess before taking another sip.

"Actually," Jeffery paused. "I'm her boyfriend." Pearson nearly choked on his drink. "You're WHAT?!"

"Her boyfriend "repeated Jeffery. " And how do you know Skye anyways?"

"We used to be a thing," Pearson said, making sure to emphasize thing. "But Skye and I agreed to take a break; I guess that's where you fit in." Now it was Jeffery's turn to almost choke. _This guy and Skye_, _a thing, ha, what a joke! He was joking right_?

"Besides," said Pearson. "Where'd you think her first kiss went?" It took all of Jeffery's strength not to hawl off and punch Pearson right in the nose.

They turned down aisle 12 and Pearson handed Jeffery a bag of marbles. "Here. What else did Skye ask for? Clothesline, right." Pearson walked farther down the aisle and grabbed a bundle off the top shelf and walked back towards Jeffery. "Clothesline." Jeffery whispered and scowled at the floor.

When the group reunited at the cash register Skye looked over at Jeffery but his face was blank.

"$17.90, please." Pearson said from behind the counter. Skye pulled her last twenty from her pocket and slapped it on the counter. Batty grabbed the bag of supplies off the counter.

"See you soon Skye?" Pearson asked as they walked to the door.

Skye turned back and gave a half nod before hustling Jane, Batty and Jeffery out the door.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys thanks for the reviews. They were great. I hope you'll send me a few ideas on what you want to see happen and I will try to update more often….. So hope you Enjoy!**

**Lov ya,**

**Saffy**

Chapter 5

Rosalind searched through Tommy's refrigerator. It was already one and Ben needed lunch.

"Peanut Butter….Peanut Butter….. TOMMY!" Rosalind yelled.

"Yes," Tommy whispered in her ear, before kissing her on the cheek and reaching around her to grab the peanut butter off the self right in front of her.

"You're nervous about something." He said as she blushed and closed the refrigerator door. The Geingers Kitchen was as familiar to Rosalind s her own, with its big glass doors that led to the back yard, the island in the middle and a wooden table off to the side . The walls were a light green and one wall was still covered in art work Tommy and his brother, Nick had created in Pre-school and Kindergarten. But at that moment Rosalind felt almost trapped there.

"Nervous? What are you talking about?" Rosalind tried to scoot around Tommy, who was making two sandwiches now, one for Ben and one for himself. Tommy held out his hand stopping Rosalind before she could pass. He took a step closer to her, making her lift her chin to see his face, for he was at least a head taller than her. "Yes. You're nervous." Rosalind tried to look away, but he caught her chin in his hand and searched her eyes. "You want to tell me about it?" he asked. Rosalind sighed then gave a little nod.

"Go sit on the couch, I'll get Ben lunch and then we'll talk." Rosalind nodded again and then slumped onto the couch in the living room.

Five minutes later Tommy slumped down beside her. He offered her a bag of M&Ms, which Rosalind ruefully took. "So," said Tommy. "What's up?"

"Mrs. G." Rosalind answered.

"I see," said Tommy in his professor imitation. "But I have reason to believe that this is not the whole story, is it not?"

"Ya, last night we came up with a plan to get rid of her. We're going to make hound throw up once or twice on her shoes or stuff and put newts in her bed, put marbles on her bathroom floor and ….oh I don't know, just annoy her to no end. 'Because we don't know what else to do, I mean…..you met her, she's just awful. At first it seemed like a good idea but now I'm worried. Skye has Jeffery and Mrs. T-D to worry about and Batty is just finally crawling out of her shell and…and what if I become so caught up in everything that I make mistakes…..and." Rosalind began to cry, she hated crying, she always had. It might have been that she always felt she needed to be strong, or that crying let too much emotion show. And Rosalind had always seemed to take on pressure five times over what Skye and Jane felt, first with Mrs. T-D, then her father's dating, and leaving Batty alone with Skye for two weeks had all brought her close to tears, but this just crossed her barriers. A woman who had no respect for anyone was invading her home, her sanctuary; even with all her problems home had always been like a safe house for the sisters but now their territory had been captured and Rosalind couldn't handle it.

Tommy hugged Rosalind to his chest and whispered sweet nothings into her hair. Which mad Rosalind's tears turn into sobs. "I'm here," he whispered. "I'm here." When she had finished crying her sobs faded into choked gasps, but Tommy still held her. Soon Rosalind fell asleep. Downstairs Tommy could hear the TV blaring some children's show that Ben was watching. Once again Tommy thanked God that his mom was out.

He looked down at Rosalind, his sweet Rosalind. He'd matured so much in the past years; he'd grown from a boy to a man. The boy he was a few years ago wouldn't have known what to do if Rosalind was crying but Tommy the Man knew one thing he had to do. He had to make this monster that had destroyed his Rosalind's world disappear.


End file.
